Archive By Section - Local News

With a history of turbulence of outside issues such as litigations and board quarrels overshadowing Oakdale Irrigation District meetings, the Tuesday, July 5 meeting mainly focused on just water issues.

The Petco Foundation is sponsoring a "Be a Life Saver" animal adoption event on Saturday, July 9. This event is to help bring awareness to the many loving pets waiting in shelters for new homes. Oakdale Animal Shelter volunteers will have pets available at the Riverbank Petco from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. on Saturday for the adoption opportunity. Biscuit, shown here, is an adorable, very friendly and playful two-year-old Chihuahua mix; great animals like this will be up for adoption at the event.

Oakdale Chamber Commerce will once again present its Annual Concerts in the Park event. Concerts in the Park are hosted each Friday evening beginning July 15 through Aug. 26 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at Dorada Park. The concerts are free to the community.

Temperatures didn't quite hit the century mark on Wednesday, June 29 – topping out at 97 in Oakdale – but that still was hot enough to make the shaved ice booth at the downtown Farmer's Market a welcome stop for shoppers. Here, booth co-owner Samuel Walker, left, watches as assistant Tiffany Thompson adds some flavoring to the ice he has just shaved off the block. The Wednesday evening market, on North Third Avenue, features food vendors, fresh fruits, vegetables, cheeses, informational booths and more.

It has been over a century since the Oakdale Garden Club laid down its roots and branched out on its own. A venture, which began in 1909 when they disbanded from the Oakdale Women's Club to become established as a separate entity.

Traffic was backed up trying to get into Woodward Reservoir off 26-Mile Road at multiple times during the long July 4 holiday weekend, as locals and visitors alike looked to get some relief from the heat.

As the Oakdale Irrigation District continues to battle leaks of confidential information from closed session agenda items, Stanislaus County Superior Court Judge Roger M. Beauchesne granted a temporary restraining order to the district Thursday morning, June 30, prohibiting two of its own directors from being included in those closed session hearings.

Tuesday began the sale of 'Safe and Sane' fireworks in nearly 300 communities across California, including Oakdale, which has CAL FIRE reminding everyone to do their part to prevent fires caused by fireworks this Fourth of July. Over the past five years, more than 2,500 structure and wildfires have been sparked by fireworks, burning thousands of acres, causing countless injuries and costing millions in property loss.

Board of Equalization Member George Runner on Monday announced the state excise tax on gasoline will drop by 2.2 cents per gallon beginning July 1, 2016. This lowers the current excise tax rate from 30 cents to 27.8 cents per gallon.

As wildfires burn across California, new estimates on the number of dead trees in California were announced, prompting continued concern for California's forest health and wildfire danger. This past week, the US Forest Service released the outcome of its latest aerial surveys over California forestland, finding that over 66 million trees have now died due to drought and bark beetles since 2010. That number is up from 29 million dead trees in 2015 and 3.3 million in 2014.

Assemblymember Kristin Olsen, of Riverbank, recently honored Court Appointed Special Advocates, Stanislaus County as Nonprofit of the Year for the 12th Assembly District during a celebration of California Nonprofits Day at the State Capitol. California Nonprofits Day was formally proclaimed by the State Legislature through passage of ACR 192, a bill that Olsen co-authored. Olsen represents Oakdale, Riverbank and Escalon in the 12th Assembly District.

Oakdale Shelter Pet Alliance will be hosting a pet adoption event at Petco in Riverbank on Saturday, July 2 from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. where there will be several pets available for adoption. These pets could be a loving addition to your family and a great companion for your Fourth of July celebration.